Houston deputies ambushed outside a bar, 1 killed, 2 injured.

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One deputy with the Harris County Constable Precinct 4 was killed and two others were injured in what authorities described as an ambush shooting outside of a Houston bar. The shooting happened around 2:15 a.m. Saturday at 45 Norte Sports Bar. The three deputies have not been identified.

Constable Mark Herman said one of the wounded deputies was shot in the back and the other was shot in the foot. Both underwent surgery, Herman said at a news conference. "Probably one of the toughest things I've done in my career," Herman said. "This is a tough time for Precinct 4."

Houston Police Executive Assistant Chief James Jones said the deputies were working an extra shift at the bar when they heard a disturbance outside. The deputies believed a robbery was taking place and went to arrest a suspect. "They were trying to arrest a suspect or detain a suspect ... when they were ambushed," Jones said.

The suspect is believed to have shot the deputies with a rifle, according to Jones. It's not known if the deputies returned fire.

Jones said they have a "person of interest" in custody but noted that they are not sure if the person is a witness or a suspect. Houston police later tweeted that the person is not believed to be the shooter. The shooting remains under investigation.

“I’m asking for all our community’s thoughts and prayers for our families. My main concern right now are the families of the three officers involved and getting them the immediate care and support that they’re going to need,” Herman said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/1- ... r-n1281694

What are constables in Texas ?

The shooting happened around 2:15 a.m., after at least two of the Precinct 4 constable deputies -- working an extra job at 45 Norte Sports Bar -- went outside to address a disturbance, authorities said. "It turns out it may have been a robbery they were intervening in ... probably unknown to them at the time," Jones said.

While the two deputies were trying to detain a suspect they had on the ground, another person "came from around a car with a rifle and basically shot them right there," Herman told reporters.

The shooter "came out of nowhere," Herman said.

The third deputy "hears gunshots ... runs out there, and when he does, he doesn't even draw a gun -- he's shot," Herman said.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/16/us/houst ... index.html

Re: Houston deputies ambushed outside a bar, 1 killed, 2 injured.

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sikacz wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 8:04 pm Overlap with sheriff.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_constable

The only constables, I’ve met in person were performing duties as bailiffs. I thought these three might have been moonlighting for the establishment they were at. Not sure.
Thanks wasn't sure what their status was since they were also called deputies. It appears that they were moonlighting but it's not clear in any of the reports. Tragic, they're all young.
A man with an AR-15 rifle ambushed three Harris County deputies early Saturday morning, killing one and wounding two others while they were responding to a disturbance outside a bar in north Houston, authorities said.
The deputies had been working an extra shift at 45 Norte Bar and Lounge and responded to a report of a robbery outside the bar around 2:12 a.m. Two deputies were trying to arrest a robbery suspect when the gunman opened fire on them, authorities said. Upon hearing the gunshots, the third deputy rushed outside to aid his fellow deputies and was also shot, the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office said.

Deputy Juqaim Barthen, 26, and Deputy Darrell Garrett, 28, were wounded in the shooting. Barthen joined Precinct 4 in September 2019. Garrett joined in March 2018.

Garrett was shot in the back multiple times and underwent surgery at Memorial Hermann in downtown Houston. Garrett’s fiancé Lajah Richardson told KPRC 2 both his kidneys and his gallbladder were removed and one bullet struck his spine. He remains in stable but critical condition in the ICU. Richardson added Garrett will need a kidney transplant in the future.
https://www.click2houston.com/news/loca ... h-houston/
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Houston deputies ambushed outside a bar, 1 killed, 2 injured.

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The constable is an elected position and the ones working for the constables are Deputy constables. They normally work with the Justice of the Peace courts serving warrants or eviction notices. In the past for counties that had a small population the Texas constitution and laws required the Sheriff and the Tax Assessor offices to be combined. Normally the Tax Assessor is an accountant with no law enforcement background, so the Constable of the county, since they only had one elected constable, assumed the duties of sheriff. How did I know this, my grandfather was constable of Madison County Texas for many years from the late 1940s to the late 1950s.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Houston deputies ambushed outside a bar, 1 killed, 2 injured.

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Never seen a constable doing security around these parts. Usually it's just a private security detail or off duty LEO in a uniform.
The term "constable" means different things in different jurisdictions. In some places it is a title or a rank in law enforcement. In others, it refers to a specific assignment for certain law enforcement officers. However, in Arizona, a constable is an officer of the county justice courts. Like justices of the peace, constables are elected by the people of their local precincts to serve four-year terms. Constables and their deputies are the executive enforcement branch of the county justice courts.

A common misconception about constables is that they are a part of the county sheriff's office. While constables perform many of the same roles in justice courts that sheriffs do in superior courts, and occasionally they may provide assistance to one another, the two offices are not related. While constables are certified by the same board that certifies training for police and sheriffs, they do not perform many of the more traditional law enforcement duties that police and sheriffs do, such as traffic enforcement or criminal investigations. It is likely that, because they are not highly visible, constables are the least understood branch of law enforcement in Arizona.

Constables are elected officials, and along with their deputies, they attend to the justice courts. Since justice court precinct lines are determined by the number of people living in a certain area, some counties only have one or two constables, while larger counties may have up to twenty-five. Depending on a precinct's caseload and if they have the approval of their county board of supervisors, a constable may appoint deputies and a staff. In most cases, there are no more than one constable and one deputy in a given precinct.

Constables have the same legal authority as a county sheriff, but generally only work within their own precincts. The primary duties of Arizona constables are:

Executing and returning writs of possession or restitution (evictions);
Serving orders of protection or orders prohibiting harassment;
Serving civil and criminal summons and subpoenas;
Providing judicial security to the justice courts;
Levying and returning writs of execution (seizing property to satisfy judgments);
Storing personal property that has been levied; and
Conducting constable sales of levied property (like sheriff's sales)
Perhaps the most common concern about constables is their qualifications. Constables wear badges but they generally do not wear uniforms or drive marked cars, so most people do not recognize them. Due to the nature of their work, there can be some confusion among members of the public as to whether they really are qualified peace officers. Although any registered voter may run for the office, many constables are former federal, state, county and/or local law enforcement officers. In addition to this, every constable is required to undergo a basic training course within 6 months of assuming office, as well as maintain a certain number of training hours every year thereafter. This ensures that constables are trained and proficient in their duties. In fact, over the past few years the CESTB has adopted new rules that doubled the number of required training hours. Tracking the training of each constable is one of the main responsibilities of the CESTB.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,”

Re: Houston deputies ambushed outside a bar, 1 killed, 2 injured.

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Texas has to be different. Here you will see the vehicle looks like any Law Enforcement vehicle on it has Constable emblazoned on the sides and back. Also they were uniforms just like the Sheriff's deputies only the patches and badges say Constable. In Texas the Constable is under the control of the Justice of the Peace court and serves as the Bailiff for that court. They are not Bailiffs for the District Courts. The Bailiffs for the District Criminal and Civil courts are hired by the courts and are usually Law Enforcement certified. They are only under the control of the court and not under the control of Sheriff or other authorities.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Houston deputies ambushed outside a bar, 1 killed, 2 injured.

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Since 1998 CA counties consolidated their courts, abolishing municipal and justice courts. Superior courts (same as district or circuit courts in other states) handle everything from speeding tickets to murder trials to civil lawsuits against corporations. Before 1998 CA judges had to be licensed lawyers, there weren't any JPs or magistrates that weren't lawyers. The argument was that it's the most efficient use of judges in each county. There are still state court of appeal and state supreme court justices above the superior courts.

The bailiffs in superior courts are sheriff's deputies in each county.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Houston deputies ambushed outside a bar, 1 killed, 2 injured.

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sikacz wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 8:04 pm I thought these three might have been moonlighting for the establishment they were at. Not sure.

You're right.
Three Harris County Precinct 4 constable deputies were working an extra job at the club when they went outside to address "a disturbance" that "may have been a robbery," Houston Police Executive Assistant Chief James Jones said during a news conference.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/deputy-fatall ... d=80619451
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

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